I strive to be as eco-conscious as I can without living as suckily as they did in the 1800s. I turn my car off when I am waiting for a prescription in the drive-thru or at the bank to deposit a check. I use cloth bags at stores most of the time. I recycle every other week. I do a local CSA. I buy all my jeans at Plato's Closet rather than buying new.
But there are some pro-environment things about which I have serious issues.....
Like CFL bulbs, which suck. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. If I just have to run into a room quickly, it is not even worth it to turn them on because they are so stinkin' dim until they warm up (which may be how they are pro-environment....people just don't turn on the lights anymore, at all.) Depending on the light fixture, they flicker. Some people have an issue with the way they make paint look on the walls. I'd just like for them to just work somewhat consistently---forget the paint.
And buying local, which is great in theory but IMPOSSIBLE if one has to browse and isn't finding the size she needs for her tall and thin husband (whose birthday is next week). I have made two trips now to find something for him in his size, and I haven't found it at either store. So I wasted gas and time, plus polluted and have nothing to show for it. I could drive to a number of other stores, wasting more gas and time, polluting more AND having to attempt to shop with the Bobo Brothers in tow, or I could do as I just did which is order the wanted item in the correct size from L.L.Bean and have it shipped to my house.
I do use cloth bags as much as possible when shopping, but this means we have fewer plastic bags in which to throw cat crap when the litter boxes are cleaned. I recycle all my bread bags and newspaper bags, but those are too narrow for poop dumping purposes. And I refuse to buy bags just for disposing of animal feces. If my cats weren't so old and set in their ways, I would switch them to the litter that disintegrates with urine and just scoop the poop and flush it.
Oh, I know these are minor annoyances--what one of my FB friends calls, "White People Problems," and I know I am fortunate to have them instead of actual, difficult problems that threaten my way of life and livelihood.
Now that I read what I wrote I realize I sorta sound like Rand Paul bitchin' about toilets and their lack of powerful flushing due to water conservation efforts. I'll stop now.
But there are some pro-environment things about which I have serious issues.....
Like CFL bulbs, which suck. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. If I just have to run into a room quickly, it is not even worth it to turn them on because they are so stinkin' dim until they warm up (which may be how they are pro-environment....people just don't turn on the lights anymore, at all.) Depending on the light fixture, they flicker. Some people have an issue with the way they make paint look on the walls. I'd just like for them to just work somewhat consistently---forget the paint.
And buying local, which is great in theory but IMPOSSIBLE if one has to browse and isn't finding the size she needs for her tall and thin husband (whose birthday is next week). I have made two trips now to find something for him in his size, and I haven't found it at either store. So I wasted gas and time, plus polluted and have nothing to show for it. I could drive to a number of other stores, wasting more gas and time, polluting more AND having to attempt to shop with the Bobo Brothers in tow, or I could do as I just did which is order the wanted item in the correct size from L.L.Bean and have it shipped to my house.
I do use cloth bags as much as possible when shopping, but this means we have fewer plastic bags in which to throw cat crap when the litter boxes are cleaned. I recycle all my bread bags and newspaper bags, but those are too narrow for poop dumping purposes. And I refuse to buy bags just for disposing of animal feces. If my cats weren't so old and set in their ways, I would switch them to the litter that disintegrates with urine and just scoop the poop and flush it.
Oh, I know these are minor annoyances--what one of my FB friends calls, "White People Problems," and I know I am fortunate to have them instead of actual, difficult problems that threaten my way of life and livelihood.
Now that I read what I wrote I realize I sorta sound like Rand Paul bitchin' about toilets and their lack of powerful flushing due to water conservation efforts. I'll stop now.
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